Torpedo-guard.



H. DE CORTE.

TORFED() GUARDL APPLwATloN FILED JAN. 26, 1917.

Patented @Gta 16 NVENTGR- ATTORNEY narran saam@ ien.

i. onirica'.

- HENRY DE CORTE, F FAIRGROVE, MICHIGAN.

maaier..

Application filed January 26, 1917. Serial No. 1144,711.

Be it known that L, HENRY Dn CORTE, a

citizen of the. United States,residing atA Fairgrove, in the county of. Tuscola and .State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Torpedo- Guards, of which the following is a specification.

, My invention relates to improvements in torpedo guards, and 1t consists in the constructlons and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a torpedo' guard of the eXtensible netting'type, adaptable more particularly to vessels, and is arranged'to be supported in such a manner on the side of Aa vessehso that the netting or guardmay be extended for defense or retracted at will.

l, as will appear from the following speciflca- Y ently explained.

Other objects and. advantages ofdthe in-v vention lie incertain specific constructions ln carrying outl invention l provide supporting plates 1 and 2 which may be secured to the .side of the'vessel in any approved manner as for instance by thev rivets 3. The. plates 1 and 2 are provided with bifurcated bearings 4, which merge at the bottom in saddles 5. It should be observed that the saddles 5 are located somewhat-below the hinge pin of the supporting platel,

the purpose of this arrangement being pres- A. pivot pin or bolt G which passes through each of the bifurcated bearings 4, supports in each instance an eXtensible radius arm 7.

The arms 7 are formed with bearings at their outer ends in which a link bar 8 is pivotally supported.` The link bar 8 of each pair of radius arms 7 is fulcrumedinthe bearing at the outer end of each arm 7 on a pin 9. The arrangement as described so far and as illustrated in Fig. A1, is that of an articulated frame, which consists of the se ries ofpairs of arms 7 shown more clearly in Specification of Letters Patent.

the link bars 8.

- Patented ct. 16, 191'?. 'x

Fig. 2, the outer-ends of whichzare join-edA by `W hen the articulated frame as described above. is extended, the portions of the arms 7 adjacent the fulcrum pin 6 in the bracket plates 1 and 2, rests in the saddles 5 and are supported from furtherv downwardv movement. l

Thelink bars 8 form lthe supporting and clamping elements for a stout metallic netting 10. The netting 10 is applied to the outer surfaces ofthe bars 8 and stretched tightly thereover. The netting 10 is then clamped into position by clamp plates 11 which' are suitably apertured atvintervals to permit vthe passage'of clamping bolts 1 2.

The clamping vbolts v12 pass through the clamping plates 11 and the associated link bars 8 'and grip the protective netting tightly in' position.

v In order'to insure the holding of the ynetting 10 in position, ther bars 8 are formed with outwardlyfconverging surfaceswhich terminate in central rib 13. The clamp .plates 11 are correspondingly formed as willv readily be observed from Fig. 3, so 'that when the netting is applied to the lih'k bars Y 'li-,1 andthe clamp plates 11 are placed there-l over, the bolts 12 upon being applied will draw the clamp plate 11 tightly over the rib 13 and secure a strong grip on the netting 10.

In order to raise the netting from its lowered position, I'provide a plurality of bail members '12. Rope or cables 13 are joined with the bail members 12 and may be wound overa suitable hoisting drum which upon rotation elevates thed netting. 'Suitable jcatchesmayalso be applied to the side of the vessel so as to support the netting in-its retracted elevated position adjacent the side thereof.

In operation, when it is desired to protect a vessel against submarine torpedo attacks,

the guard is releasedfrom its retracted posivtion and. allowed to movedownwardly into the water. The varticulated arrangement of the frame, z'. c. the arms 7' and the link bars S,

serves to fhold the netting 10 always in a vertical position. This means' that the netting will lie ilatly against the side/lof the vessel when it is retracted and 'will standvertically in the water when it is extended. A torpedo in being directed toward the vessel will be intercepted by the, netting 10 where; if it explodes no harm will be done to the vessel.

It has n explained thatthefsaddles 5.l

are located somewhat below the hinge pins 6 of the plates 1.l By .reference t'o Fig. l of the drawing, the purpose of this arrangement` vwill be obvious. It may readily be understood that were the shield 11 sup ported on radius arms 7 extending at right angles to the vessel, the force of the impact of the torpedo or projectilewould result in forcing the shield upwardly and it is even conceivable that a projectile or torpedo may thus be deflected under. the vessel where it might explode and thus defeat the purpose of the invention. It will therefore readily be understood that a projectile striking the shield with the radins armsI 7 and S in the,

position shown, the effect will be to jam the radius ar1ns'7 tightly into the saddles 5 and obviate any tendency toward the upward `movement of the shield.

While the construction of the device as l lillustrated is that of a preferred form and illustrates chiefly the prime features of the invention, obviously various modifications in the construction may be made without de! parting from the spirit ofthe invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. ln a device of the character described, the combination with the side of a vessel, of bearing plates secured thereto, cach plate having a bearing portion and a saddle adjacent thereto, radius arms pivoted in the' bearings and adaptedto rest in the saddles at an .inclination to the vessel, a link bar netting applied tothe link bars, and clamp bars forholdi'ng the netting in position the incli ed position of the radius arms effect` inv' l jamming thereof into the saddles When the' netting is struck ,by a' projectile.

2; In' a device of the character described, the combination with the side of a vessel, of plates secured to the vessel each lhaving a vbearing and a saddle adjacent thereto, radius joining the outerends of the radius arms, a

arms pivoted ineach bearing and adapted to rest in a saddle, a link bar joining each pail of radius arms so that the link bars may reinai'n inl a vertical position upon arcuate movement of the radius arinssaid link bars being formed with a central rib', netting ap-- 50 s pli/cd to the link bars, clamp plates having courespondingly shaped surfaces to iit'ver the link bar ribs, and clamp bolts for securing the clamp plates, the netting and the link bars together. y

ln testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two Witnesses.'

HENRYDE CORTE.-y

Witnesses:

G. B. MCINTYRE, f WM. KIRK. 

